Control devices including, but not limited to, touch screens, keyboards, and cursor control devices (e.g., track balls) are used in the operation and control of vehicles. Such control devices are commonly used, for instance, in aircraft, spacecraft, water craft and automobiles. These control devices are frequently mounted on horizontal surfaces. For instance, the center pedestal located between a pilot and a co-pilot may include such control devices. In many instances, two or more control devices are arranged on the center pedestal or other surfaces within the flight deck and are arranged in tandem or are otherwise longitudinally aligned.
During vehicle operations, the vehicle frequently encounters disruptive motion of some sort. For example, an aircraft may encounter turbulence, a water craft may bounce from wave to wave, an automobile may encounter pot holes, speed bumps, etc. . . . . Under such circumstances, vehicle operators may have difficulty in keeping their hands steady as they attempt to use the control devices. This can result in the typing of an incorrect letter on a keyboard, the selection of an undesired menu option with a cursor control device, or the touching of an undesired graphic button using a touch screen.
One solution has been to provide a raised surface proximate the control device on which vehicle operators may rest their hands. This allows vehicle operators to keep their hands substantially steady and immobile with respect to the control device that they are manipulating. This solution is adequate when vehicle operators are presented with a single control device, but when there are two or more such control devices aligned longitudinally, the raised surface may be adequate only for the proximate control device. The vehicle operator will still have to manipulate the distal control devices with an unsupported hand.